Till Death Do Us Part
by Queen-of-Ice101
Summary: A vow taken. A life of pain. One choice, with eternal consequence. {written for Halloween and is cannon complaint with events that take place in Lord of Twilight}


Hello all!

Yaaaaaaaaaay October has finally come! I'm so excited to finally be able to share this with you all, I wrote it last week but since it was written for Halloween month I had to wait to post it.

So this piece isn't MxG at all, it focuses in entirely on Te'ijalxGalahad. This is probably my darkest Aveyond fanfic so far {XD XD So soon after my last "darkest" one, I see to be on a roll~} and I have to give a major warning before you go any further. This is not a nice fluffy fanfic, there is a hint of fluff but if you are easily emotionally distraught by fan fiction I give fair warning now should you choose to read that you are not going to find the happy stuff.

Not all of my works for Halloween will be like this, but this one is definitely dark.

So enjoy and please don't kill me at the end:D

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 **Till Death Do Us Part**

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Few things could shake the vampire paladin any longer, not after centuries of living cursed and damned to eternal torment as the one creature he had feared most. He had seen empires rise and fall, humans born and dead. Life had faded into a monochrome blur of pointless existence. This quest to figure out how to help the human girl Mel was only just another blip in his timeline of pain.

Then clarity had come, vibrant and piercing as Gyendal had walked into that tower with his minions behind him. His cloak billowed out behind him and Galahad knew with certainty that they had just played into the dark mages hands like puppets on a string.

"Thank you sister, for doing the work for me. I'll be taking that now." Gyendal laughed, holding up his hand and as with a crackle of magic the book flew from Te'ijal into his grasp.

Te'ijal shouted and lunged, but the vampires were too fast and all to quickly she was frozen with a stake pressing against her chest. Galahad instinctively moved to throw them away from his cursed wife but before he could even take a step he was also surrounded, armour ripped to the side with vampire magic to allow them complete access to his chest.

Galahad instantly froze, feeling the tip of the wood pressing into his flesh. Adrenaline pumped through him, instinct telling him to flee but knowledge of his impending death should he move so much as an inch keeping him in place.

"How regrettable brother, and utterly typical. Can't even do your own dirty work?"

Rage flaired in the younger Ravenfoot's eyes.

"Oh pardon me, would you like thanks for your work? I'm sure you have my heartfelt gratitude. In fact, I think that it's only fair I pay you back for all you've done. Stopping me from taking the Darkthrop girl and betraying not just your family but your entire kind."

There was a snarl as Te'ijal bared full fangs at Gyendal

"Don't tell me you plan to lock us up, keep us out of your way until this quest is over?"

Cruel laughter echoed through the chamber and Gyendal gave a mocking shake of his head.

"Oh no, that is far to temporary for my needs..."

Realization washed over Galahad like ice water at the implication behind his words.

"You plan to kill us." He said, mouth dry.

"No...I plan to kill my sister. You on the other hand have no part in this, you were dragged into our conflict." Gyendal said plainly, taking a half step towards Galahad. "A noble knight, had his soul and his future ripped away from him by the woman he calls his wife. Cursed to live an eternal nightmare. Consider my actions a gift, you are hereby released from Te'ijal."

"No! I am your sister! How dare you!" Te'ijal shouted, every muscle in her body clearly these as she battled the desire to leap free knowing that doing so would cause her the carefully placed stake to shove right through her heart.

"You would speak to the lord of twilight in such a way?! Can I stake her now milord?" One of the vampires asked eagerly.

"No. Staking is far to merciful for her crimes. Tie her up and take her to the top of the tower, she will die with the morning sun." Gyendal ordered before turning to Galahad. "Do you wish to follow in her steps? Or am I right in believing that you are ready for freedom that has long been refused? All I require in exchange for your freedom is that you do not interfere with my plans."

He never even fully listened to Gyendal's terms, everything in him was fixed on one word.

Freedom.

"I agree to your conditions!"

"Then leave and do not return." Gyendal ordered, Galahad breaking away from the vampires that guarded him as he sprinted down the steps and out of the tower.

He never paused or considered his steps as he went straight to the tavern, relieved to finally be able to enjoy one that did not serve blood. He took residence in the far corner, ordering a drink gruffly and snatching it across the counter to him before letting out a long sigh.

One drink.

Two drinks.

Galahad began to lose count as he waited, waited for the relief and joy to come of his freedom.

But nothing came.

His mind instead drifted, forcing him back to Te'ijal again and again no matter how hard he battled himself away from her. He let out a hiss grabbing his head in his hands and cursing himself under his breath.

"She is as good as dead, stop thinking of her! Enough!" He snarled under his breath.

Galahad closed his eyes tightly, his thoughts wandering once again except this time to the events that had taken place. His mind slowly replayed what had happened how close he had come to death and how relieving it had been to escape it-...

 _No._

A sudden strangled sound escaped him and his spine snapped straight as he stared straight ahead in horror.

He was _glad that he hadn't died_. He was relieved to continue his vampire existence.

"No, no this isn't right." Galahad breathed, shaking hands gripping the cup with increasing strength.

The sound of wood splintering ripped him into reality, wood piercing into his hand and he shoved the cup away. Several people called at him but he did't hear a word as he slapped money down on the counter and staggered off his chair and towards the door. One broad shoulder was all he needed to shove the door open as he pulled the wood splinters out of his flesh without so much as a wince, the door slamming shut behind him

"I'm accepting this curse. I'm glad to be alive, even being a vampire and alone. It's finally working, her curse is taking root." He breathed.

He looked down at shaking hands, almost expecting to see white. He would never drink blood, never lose himself like that. Yet he could feel it, the hunger that was always there in the back of his mind.

Again his mind flashed back to the source of this, Te'ijal. He could see her in his minds eye, swinging one hip out as she shot her one of her sultry smiles and walked away into another room.

"I can't get her out of my mind!" He shouted to the empty street, anguish filling his voice.

In the back of his head a soft and traitorous voice asked him if he even wanted to. Again he thought of her, and something in him clenched at the thought of living out eternity alone.

Without her.

A million emotions flashed through him and something deep inside his chest settled like a stone.

He knew what he had to do.

With running steps Galahad followed the path he had just agreed never to take again. He exited the main city of Harburg, moving through the night until he could see the ruins of the Darkthrop keep towering above. Two vampires stood guard over the walkway leading up to the keep. He reached into the bag he carried strapped to his armour, face impassive as he withdrew two razor sharp stakes.

When he stopped in front of the vampires he could see the disgust on their face.

"I knew you would return, you fool knight." One spat, the other opening his mouth to agree.

Galahad never gave the second one a chance to say a word as with synced movements he raised both stakes and killed the vampires without second thought. Ash landed in heaps on the ground, Galahad stepping over them with nothing more then a shiver as he thought of what he was doing.

Silently he entered the tower, letting the door slam behind him as he rushed up stairs and through doors, every moment one closer to where Te'ijal was being held.

Then finally he reached the top of the tower, hand reaching out to push the door open and step into the tower.

"...I'm still here and quite tied up if thats what you're wondering. Go back to guarding like good little lapdogs for my brother will you?" Te'ijal droned.

When there way no reply and no door closing he heard Te'ijal sigh, but her frustration vanished as he stepped around the wall column.

"Galahad! How did you get here?! What about the vampires below?! I thought you had taken your freedom!" Te'ijal fired at him one after another, struggling once more against the ropes around her.

"I thought I had too." He rasped, slowly crossing the floor to kneel down before her.

They were both silent as he studied her, the creature of the night that he hated so much but could not drive from his mind. The woman that had somehow ripped her way past his humanity and reduced him slowly to barely better then the evil being she was.

Fingers touched featherlight to her cheek and as if in a trance he leaned down, his heart letting go of the last hopes he had carried to remain the noble knight he had once been. Te'ijal's eyes drifted shut as he covered her mouth with his own.

His hands slid over her back, down the curve of her shoulder to the first set of knots. A small touch was all it took to identify the kind of knot that had been used. It was almost impossible to undo, but the vampires had foolishly left just enough give that if he was careful he could cut her free. His finger toyed with the rope a moment, then he reached around with his other hand and with a quick movement grabbed the rope ends hanging free and jerked them hard.

Te'ijal broke away from his kiss with a shout of pain, the knot uncompromisingly tight around her now.

"What are you doing?!"

Galahad stared down at her, the wide and shocked scarlet eyes staring back up at him before standing and looking out the massive window in front of him.

"I'm making sure I cannot give into temptation, that to cut you free would take to the time of the sunrise." He said simply as he reached to his waist and removed his sword belt.

The clatter echoed through the tower as he cast the sword scabbard away, his error following and leaving him in the soft cotton clothes underneath. A rare element of panic could be seen in her eyes as he dropped to sit next to the woman he called his wife.

"Why are you doing this?!" Te'ijal shouted, her voice desperate. "You had your freedom, why are you throwing it away!"

He let out a bitter laugh.

"My freedom? I thought I had it also, but as I stood out there in the streets I realized that my freedom was taken years ago. My mind is no longer my own, my desires are not my own. I promised myself I would never lose myself but even as I sit here your very existence inside my head haunts me and taunts me with what I have become."

Venom bled into his tone, his face darkening as rage swept through him hot and wild.

"Every moment of my existence no longer belongs to Galahad the paladin, there is nothing left of the noble man who you turned. You've tainted me, Te'ijal, made me into a creature of the night that clings to an unholy life of eternal death and hungers for the blood of the innocent. I am slowly becoming nothing more than an animal, not caring for the sins of my existence and desiring what I should curse and hate. I hated you, but the vampire wants you and needs you!"

Te'ijal gaped at him and just as quickly as the rage had come, it dissipated. Leaving him empty. His gaze became almost soft as he reached up to brush a hand over Te'ijal's cheek.

"Galahad, you-"

"It's alright." He soothed gently, "I'm making this right in a way I was too coward to do before. I'm atoning for my sins, I'm taking the penance I deserved from the moment I stepped into a marriage with you. We'll make things right for our existence before the goddess. We'll pay our price, and then we'll be free."

"You've lost your mind." Te'ijal breathed, horror and revulsion in her eyes.

But deeper he saw the love, the fear and the regret. A peace filled him, he could go on now that he that he saw her regret for her love of the vampire existence. Behind them the first signs of the sunrise began to show and he gave her a tender, twisted smile.

"We shall fulfil those unholy marriage oaths together Te'ijal." He whispered, taking hold of his wife's hand one last time as the first burn of the sun touched them.

"Till death do us part."


End file.
